Young college graduates would just love to have a decent job, period. Many are doing menial jobs like washing cars, flipping burgers etc. I am with you GenX. When did regulators get into the job counseling business?

I meant a decent job in any field. Insurance is all I know about for the past 35 years, so I am glad I am not a young graduate trying to find work in today’s market. I know a fine young graduate that looked for almost a year, took menial work in fast food and then finally found work in the oil and gas industry. It certainly wasn’t what his Marketing Degree called for, but he had to do it to get work. At least he is making decent money now.

I agree, Agent. I have been in the insurance industry longer than you have, but don’t sell yourself short. Think about all of the other industries that you do have to know about in order to provide proper coverage. Where else would you find that?

June 5, 2014 at 9:56 am

Agentsays:

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Back in the day, insurance companies used to recruit talent to fill sales, claims, loss control, underwriting positions. Today, not quite so much. Companies have outsourced a lot of positions to independents, particularly with claims and loss control. I was a producer for a long time and we had to sell to put food on the table. Finally, an opportunity to buy an agency arose and I took it and have never looked back. It takes a lot of determination and work ethic to make it in this industry, but it is worth it.

June 4, 2014 at 1:59 pm

Swede700says:

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Since most positions don’t tell you about the specifics of the insurance costs prior to hire, it can certainly be a gamble, but sometimes it’s worth the risk. I recently left as a state regulator for the private industry and yes, while my insurance costs have gone up, I still would have made the change even had I known.

My guess is that the NAIC is doing this for state regulators. Their pitch to their employees is stay here for the benefits like early retirement. In California, many state workers retire in their early 50’s.

I read about a case in California where a lady public servant retired at $400,000 per year. Something is wrong with that picture and California wonders why they are broke and how many cities have taken bankruptcy.

As a Generation X underwriter myself, here are some of my thoughts and perspectives on the industry:

a) Never stop learning.
It seems funny for insurance, but it seems you learn something new every day from colleagues, agents/reinsurers and trade associations. If feasible, continue to earn applicable designations. CPCU is definitely the most valuable designation regardeless of whether you work for an agency, carrier or reinsurer. Other designations offered by the Institutes can allow you to specialize in whatever career path you migh want to take. For those interested in claims, it seems that the SCLA designation holds more weight than the AIC designation.

b) Specialize on a particular coverage, industry, etc.
Over my time in the insurance industry, I have found that I have gained from agents, reinsurers, etc who specialize in certain coverages, industries,etc. For example, insurance professionals who focus on casualty or property (versus being generalists) often can provide more value to their clients with regard to vital exposures. In addition, this can be further sub-divided into certain areas of liability (E&O, Alternative Markets, products, etc), property (Builder’s Risk, DIC, Inland Marine, etc) as well as certain industries (Construction, Health Care, Industry Professional Liability, etc).
If you join a trade association that meets in your area, this is a great way of meeting other professionals (besides insurance professionals) who work with your clients and potential clients.

c) You will usually fit on one side of the desk-producer or underwriter but not both!
Over my time, I found that insurance professionals who I have met usually can fit as underwriters or agents. I have found that most underwriters are not successful as being agents. Conversely, I have found that most agents are not as successful being underwriters.

I agree with the comments that Agent made above especially with claims. Most insurance companies do not have the back office staff to handle frequent claims. Outside personnel (typically TPA’s) usually provide services to policyholders.

Carriers that handle their own claims are much more efficient and provide a much higher level of service than TPA’s. I find the assignment of outside adjusters, appraisers, and TPA’s to hinder the claim process in most cases. That is, unless the TPA is truly the third-party administrator and handles the claim soup to nuts.

It would be easy to see that a $3000 – $6000.00 increase would be attractive but who thinks to ask what the employee portion of health insurance would be? Our employee portion for a family on the buy up plan is $500 a month. The other option is extremely high deductibles and co-pays.

It used to be that most benefit packages were about equal among agencies. With all the changes to healthcare and the creation of the 401k, that is no longer the case. Most companies I have spoken with lately give you a benefits outline in the interview so you can review what they provide.

If the benefits package (health insurance) is important (like a child with health issues), you ask.
Do you buy a house without knowing what the mortgage interest rate will be? No, you need to make an informed decision. It is not up to the company to tell you about the benefits, it is up to you to make the inquiry. If a company refuses to disclose this to you before you accept a position, they are not worth working for.